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February 24, 2012Yesterday news broke that the possible revolutionary findings of the physics experiments that detected particles traveling faster than the speed of light may have been corrupted by two mechanical errors, one of them being a loose cable. Since proof of particles breaking the speed of light would contradict Einstein’s special theory of relativity, not to mention certain principles of quantum mechanics, the initial report in September was met with a great deal of skepticism from the scientific community, and even members of the team that released the data expressed doubts at the time. Since the announcement, the research team and physicists around the world have been reviewing the results to see if they could detect any flaws in the experiment. The tests were performed by the OPERA collaboration, a research venture between CERN and the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. Initially they measured neutrinos traveling from one location to another 450 miles away and found that some arrived
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February 16, 2012
Marine biology and Oceanography organizations have long used a variety of filter media to assist with their research. While the ways in which filtration supplies can be used are as diverse as the life forms that live under the waves, here we highlight a couple of these applications that have previously been mentioned in published papers to give you an idea about some ways filters can be purposed in marine research.
In a study on mercury content of the ocean area between Antarctica and Tasmania, researchers from the Ifremer Institute used the 0.2 Micron, 47 mm polycarbonate membrane filters to filter samples of seawater and brine prior to determining their mercury content through atomic fluorescence spectroscopy. The PCTE membranes were used in conjunction with Sartorius filtration devices and a Nalgene vacuum pump to attain filtered water in volumes between 100 and 1000 mL. By applying this filtration setup the researchers were able to find patterns in how mercury travels the ocean.
Another
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February 07, 2012
An especially pungent use for glass fiber filters is described in the latest issue of the Soil Science Society of America Journal. In the paper, “Influence of Dissolved Carbon and Nitrogen on Mineralization of Dilute Liquid Dairy Manure” two scientists from the University of California examined the wastewater used to flush dairy cow waste for the presence of these elements. On dairy farms in which the milk cows are confined, water is used to flush away the manure and is then stored in lagoons to be treated for coarse solids before being re-applied to crop fields through irrigation. Refuse reuse if you will. One problem with this procedure is that if there is too much dissolved Carbon or Nitrogen in the wastewater it can create groundwater contamination. For this study, the researchers collected wastewater samples from seven lagoons and analyzed them in order to investigate the relationship between the starting levels of Nitrogen and Carbon and the wastewater’s mineralization behavior. Their
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February 02, 2012
In a case of good news/bad news for industrial workers, OSHA (the Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is getting a budget increase for 2012, but the money comes with a delay on a proposal that would further limit workers’ exposure to carcinogenic silica dust. The backstory: Last February OSHA sent a proposal to the White House Office of Management and Budget that called for a reduction in the silica PEL¹ (Permissible Exposure Limit), which would be the first change to this regulation since the 1960’s². The plan was to get the approval of the OMB and then open up the proposal to public debate after 90 days, but one year later and OSHA is still waiting. The reason for the snag is most likely because of concerns raised by the industries that would be financially affected by stricter controls. Some opponents of the new OSHA proposal argue that the government needs to do a better job of enforcing the current rules before making any changes to the exposure level. Congress seems to
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January 31, 2012Last week we announced in our newsletter that we would be including free Sterlitech water bottles or coffee mugs in with online orders until Feb. 15th or while supplies last, and sadly for some we’ve reached the end of our supply today. Don’t fret if you missed out this time around, chances are good that we’ll be doing some more giveaways this year. Be on the lookout for upcoming promotions in our newsletter and online so you don’t miss out on the next one. In the meantime, stay thirsty my friends! Got an idea about what our next promo item should be? Shirts? Golf balls? Let us know in the comments and we’ll try to make it happen.
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January 24, 2012There is a good article in “The Scientist” this month that covers how various labs have improved the throughput for their flow cytometry applications. The piece covers some of the problems users experience with flow cytometry, namely its time-consuming nature, as well as the steps that actual users have taken to improve the process for themselves. Flow cytometry is a commonly used technique for performing cell counts and diagnosing diseases including leukemia. The use of flow cytometry to analyze cells in the fields of immunology research and drug discovery is growing thanks to new equipment that streamlines the process. A few of these solutions can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, so some of this equipment probably won’t be a feasible option for everyone. A less intensive-option that can improve processing speed is to outfit instruments with a well-plate sipper that can accept microtiter plates, such as the Empore 96-Well Solid Phase Extraction plates. The best solution
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January 19, 2012
Our apologies if you were affected by our sudden office closure yesterday due to a snowstorm here in Seattle. We’re back in business today and road conditions are improving, so we don’t expect to have any other forced holidays in the near future. While there are many things Seattleites do well (software design, passive-aggressiveness), getting around in the snow is decidedly not one of them, as you can see in this YouTube video. Although in our meager defense, very little of the Seattle area sits on flat land and we do have the best soccer fanbase in the country. But until we can master the art of not braking through an ice patch, I get the feeling we will continue to be the object of ridicule from the Midwest, Northeast, and everywhere else that gets below-freezing temperatures from time to time. Stay warm out there, wherever you are!
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January 11, 2012A recently completed test in Poland found that enhancing ultrafiltration (UF) flat sheet membranes with an anionic polymer increased the membrane’s ability to purify samples of galvanized wastewater. For this experiment, the researchers tested multiple concentrations of wastewater infused with zinc, nickel, and copper ions against EW and MW designation flat sheet membranes that were infused with a polyelectrolyte, in this case polysodium 4-styrenesulfonate (PSSS) with cation-exchange properties. The result was a more-efficient metal binding agent, enabling 97-99% retention of the target metals. The EW membrane is made with Polysulfone while the MW is a modified Polyacrylonitrile known as Ultrafilic. Both designations ably treated the galvanized wastewater, but the MW membrane did have 2-3 times higher permeate flux values due to the membrane’s higher permeability. In addition to membrane separation, common treatment options for galvanized wastewater include chemical processing and the ion
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December 28, 2011
In the spirit of reflection we wanted to take a look at some of our favorite posts from 2011 that you may have missed, or may want to revisit for the sake of nostalgia. It’s been an amazing year for us, and we hope everyone out there has made the most of it as well! Here’s wishing you all a Happy New Year!
- Performance Improvement of Cross-flow Filtration for High Level Waste Treatment (Feb. 2011) - Tips on improving your filtration setup from the Department of Energy and Savannah River National Laboratory.
- Bean to Bar at Theo Chocolates (Mar. 2011) - Our own Kristina Shahbazian went on a tour of the only bean-to-bar, organic, fair trade chocolate factory in the USA, located right here in Seattle.
- Legionella Sampling Just Got a Whole Lot Sexier (Apr. 2011) - How the Centers for Disease Control utilized filtration sampling and social media Epidemiology to track an outbreak of legionella bacterium at Playboy mansion's infamous grotto.
- Deadliest Carch: Man-Made Pollution (Jun. 2011) - A collective
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December 19, 2011In order to catch up with the massive backlog of chemical compounds that need toxicity assessments, the NIH, EPA, and FDA are expanding their Tox21 robot screening program to start testing a compound library of 10,000 samples. The Tox21 screening program was first conceived in 2005 and is a joint development between these three agencies. The Tox21 robot, located in Rockville, MD, was introduced earlier this year as the heart of the program and has already studied about 500 chemicals. To give you an idea of what an improvement this is, the EPA has only tested 200 chemicals since 1976. By speeding up chemical toxicity analysis the government will also accelerate the drug development process, as drug toxicity is one of the primary reasons new drugs fail. The six-ton Tox21 robot system can test thousands of chemicals simultaneously using its vast network of tiny wells to perform high-throughput, cell-based assays at 15 different concentrations. The robot system is able to identify which chemicals
